An Analysis Of John Green 's Common Coming Of Age Essay

An Abundance of Average John Green’s common coming of age story An Abundance of Katherines tells the tale of a high school child prodigy who has only ever dated girls named Katherine. Being the prodigy that he is, Colin seems to be your average misunderstood teenager who doesn’t get along with most, except his best friend. After Colin is dumped by his nineteenth Katherine, he seems to be stuck in an eternal rut. Feeling like a failure, his best friend Hassan kicks him out the door for a road trip, determined to find his “Eureka moment.” Along the way, in a tiny town called Gutshot, they meet a quirky teenage girl named Lindsey. The road trip takes a thorough pause in Gutshot where Colin and Hassan find jobs and new friends. In the end, Colin discovers that individuality is what life is about and without it, he wouldn’t be who he is. While this novel is lighthearted and humorous, it felt whinny and generic. A coming of age story can be classic and an important lesson but John Green told the tale in a way that is predictable and tiresome. As a character, Colin came across as whinny and almost stereotypical. There is nothing new about his situation or his problems. While the idea of him being a prodigy is somewhat new, Green almost mocked the fact that Colin is nonconforming and different. To emphasize Colin’s knowledge, Green used many allusions in the novel. He alluded to many famous writers and novels such as Shakespeare, The Catcher in the Rye, and Huckleberry Finn.…

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